{"id":1741,"date":"2011-11-10T14:01:08","date_gmt":"2011-11-10T19:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2011-11-10T14:01:08","modified_gmt":"2011-11-10T19:01:08","slug":"where-the-gps-takes-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the GPS takes us…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s post was written by Geoff Twigg, Adjunct Professor at\u00a0North Park University<\/a> in Chicago. Geoff is a pastor, singer\/songwriter, worship leader and ministry consultant, and <\/em>serves the ECC as a member of the denomination\u2019s Commission on Worship.<\/em><\/p>\n

In his latest book, ‘The King Jesus Gospel’<\/em>, Scot McKnight suggests that evangelicals have reduced the gospel to a plan of salvation that is human-centered rather than focused on Christ. He contrasts the true ‘gospel culture’ with what we’ve created – a ‘salvation culture’. I think he’s on to something; and I think we may see it reflected in the content of our music and liturgy.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Stan Friedman for Covenant News, McKnight goes on to say that when we follow our favorite sports team, many of us seem to be less engaged in the success of the real team and more interested in the individual performances of our own fantasy team players, to see what points they will score for us. He uses this to illustrate that our interest is primarily one of “what we can get”. He goes on to say, in a similar way, that “We have become fantasy Christians”. We’re in it for what we can get out of it.<\/p>\n

Do these perceptions sound needlessly critical or harsh? McKnight’s tone is actually pastorally sensitive and caring, and I’d hope to reflect that warmth. These ideas are not mentioned to condemn us or make us feel guilty, so much as to point out a natural tendency to place ourselves in the picture\u2026 somewhere near the center\u2026<\/p>\n

A series of further ideas discusses our emphasis on ‘making a decision’ for Christ, rather than growing and developing disciples with Godly character. Again, I think the lack of depth in our song lyrics and our reluctance to ‘go deep’ in our services – often justified in our thinking by the need to accommodate newcomers and not frighten people away – points in the same direction. This, too often, leads us to a ‘lower common denominator’ approach to our faith.<\/p>\n

“The point is this is a story about Jesus and we\u2019ve made it into our personal happiness plan.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Bible declares God greatness, his majesty and holiness as absolutes; God is great on His own terms. However, when we express these truths, they seem to resonate more clearly if we relate them to our own experience, our testimony: “God is great because He did this for me” – “He thought of me, above all” – and so on. It’s almost as if we have a GPS (God Positioning System) that needs to be calibrated from our perspective, rooted in our testimony, in order to be real.<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s post was written by Geoff Twigg, Adjunct Professor at\u00a0North Park University in Chicago. Geoff is a pastor, singer\/songwriter, worship leader and ministry consultant, and serves the ECC as a member of the denomination\u2019s Commission on Worship. In his latest book, ‘The King Jesus Gospel’, Scot McKnight suggests that evangelicals have reduced the gospel to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere the GPS takes us... - Worship Connect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where the GPS takes us... - Worship Connect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today\u2019s post was written by Geoff Twigg, Adjunct Professor at\u00a0North Park University in Chicago. Geoff is a pastor, singer\/songwriter, worship leader and ministry consultant, and serves the ECC as a member of the denomination\u2019s Commission on Worship. In his latest book, ‘The King Jesus Gospel’, Scot McKnight suggests that evangelicals have reduced the gospel to […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Worship Connect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-10T19:01:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Geoff Twigg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Geoff Twigg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Geoff Twigg\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00bf658801760c3dce79f38afcaa3794\"},\"headline\":\"Where the GPS takes us…\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-10T19:01:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":465,\"commentCount\":3,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/\",\"name\":\"Where the GPS takes us... - Worship Connect\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-10T19:01:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00bf658801760c3dce79f38afcaa3794\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/where-the-gps-takes-us\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where the GPS takes us…\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/\",\"name\":\"Worship Connect\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00bf658801760c3dce79f38afcaa3794\",\"name\":\"Geoff Twigg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f6a9d1884338b8413d8f2e91e33e1c0d37aa35febba08509988a2f4010ba2983?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f6a9d1884338b8413d8f2e91e33e1c0d37aa35febba08509988a2f4010ba2983?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f6a9d1884338b8413d8f2e91e33e1c0d37aa35febba08509988a2f4010ba2983?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Geoff Twigg\"},\"description\":\"English composer and theologian. Fellow of Trinity College, London and Royal Philharmonic Society Prizeman. Married (since 1981) to Vicki; father of Cat, Stiv and Pete. Hobbies are Movies and Soccer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.geofftwigg.com,newpietist.tumblr.com\"],\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/wc\\\/author\\\/geofft\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where the GPS takes us... - Worship Connect","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where the GPS takes us... - Worship Connect","og_description":"Today\u2019s post was written by Geoff Twigg, Adjunct Professor at\u00a0North Park University in Chicago. Geoff is a pastor, singer\/songwriter, worship leader and ministry consultant, and serves the ECC as a member of the denomination\u2019s Commission on Worship. In his latest book, ‘The King Jesus Gospel’, Scot McKnight suggests that evangelicals have reduced the gospel to […]","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/","og_site_name":"Worship Connect","article_published_time":"2011-11-10T19:01:08+00:00","author":"Geoff Twigg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Geoff Twigg","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/"},"author":{"name":"Geoff Twigg","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/#\/schema\/person\/00bf658801760c3dce79f38afcaa3794"},"headline":"Where the GPS takes us…","datePublished":"2011-11-10T19:01:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/"},"wordCount":465,"commentCount":3,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/","name":"Where the GPS takes us... - Worship Connect","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-11-10T19:01:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/#\/schema\/person\/00bf658801760c3dce79f38afcaa3794"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2011\/11\/where-the-gps-takes-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where the GPS takes us…"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/","name":"Worship Connect","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/#\/schema\/person\/00bf658801760c3dce79f38afcaa3794","name":"Geoff Twigg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6a9d1884338b8413d8f2e91e33e1c0d37aa35febba08509988a2f4010ba2983?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6a9d1884338b8413d8f2e91e33e1c0d37aa35febba08509988a2f4010ba2983?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6a9d1884338b8413d8f2e91e33e1c0d37aa35febba08509988a2f4010ba2983?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Geoff Twigg"},"description":"English composer and theologian. Fellow of Trinity College, London and Royal Philharmonic Society Prizeman. Married (since 1981) to Vicki; father of Cat, Stiv and Pete. Hobbies are Movies and Soccer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.geofftwigg.com,newpietist.tumblr.com"],"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/author\/geofft\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1747,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions\/1747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}